On Feb. 9, 2025, the Manila Bulletin marked its 125th founding anniversary, an extraordinary milestone for an institution that has faithfully chronicled the unfolding story of the Filipino nation. As the paper now celebrates its 126th year in 2026, we find ourself revisiting and rewriting our column last year, not merely to update the record, but to reaffirm our deep gratitude to an institution that has been both witness to history and, for us personally, a cherished homecoming.

For more than a century, the Manila Bulletin has stood as a steadfast chronicler of Philippine life—through colonial rule, war and occupation, the birth of the Republic, the trials of nation-building, the Martial Law years,the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, and the continuing struggle to perfect our democracy. Its pages have preserved not just events, but the national memory itself.

In an age when speed often overwhelms accuracy, and opinion too easily masquerades as fact, the role of a responsible newspaper has become even more vital. The digital revolution, social media, and now artificial intelligence have transformed how news is consumed and disseminated. Yet amid this noise, the Manila Bulletin has remained a bastion of balance, context, and credibility—values that cannot be automated or sacrificed without cost to society.

This enduring relevance did not happen by chance. It is the product of stewardship and vision, exemplified by the late Don Emilio Yap, whose leadership helped establish the Manila Bulletin as the country’s largest and most respected daily. That legacy continues under Chairman Basilio Yap and Vice Chairman and President Emilio “Emil” Yap III, whose steady guidance ensures that the paper evolves with the times while remaining anchored to its core principles.

We are also proud, on a personal note, of the modest role played by our beloved wife, Gina de Venecia, as a member of the Board. Her service, together with that of the paper’s leadership and professional staff, reflects a shared commitment to journalism that informs, enlightens, and serves the nation.

Most meaningfully for us, however, the Manila Bulletin occupies a unique place in our life story. We remain profoundly grateful to the Bulletin for giving us the opportunity, late in life, to return to my first love—journalism.

The love was nurtured early on. We studied journalism at the Ateneo de Manila, where we served as editor of The Guidon, the award-winning student newspaper, and as Editor-in-Chief of The Aegis, the school annual.

At 19, we were handed a passport to the world not through privilege, but through ink and paper. Journalism opened doors and horizons, allowing us to serve as a foreign correspondent and later as Manila bureau chief of the Pan-Asia Newspaper Alliance, the first Asian news agency, founded by Norman Soong, General Douglas MacArthur’s favorite war correspondent during World War II. Those were formative, exhilarating years, marked by curiosity, discipline, and an abiding respect for truth.

We later wrote a weekly column on Asian affairs for the Philippines Herald, a paper once edited by Carlos P. Romulo—Pulitzer Prize winner, President of the United Nations General Assembly, and our Minister of Foreign Affairs. From such giants, one learned that journalism was not merely a profession, but a public trust.

In truth, that calling was shaped even earlier, in the quiet hours of our youth spent in our father’s library—reading history, literature, biographies, and periodicals. The elegance of language, the power of the printed word, and the lives of men and women who shaped nations planted in us a lifelong desire to witness history and, in our own small way, to help record it.

After decades of public service—as legislator, diplomat, entrepreneur, peace advocate, and five-time Speaker of the House— we never imagined that we would be granted the privilege of returning to where it all began. Yet in 2016, the Manila Bulletin extended that invitation, allowing us once more to engage the Filipino people through the written word. For this, we remain deeply thankful.

As the Manila Bulletin enters its 126th year, it does so not merely as a survivor, but as a vital institution, still chronicling our triumphs and trials, still shaping informed citizenship. May it continue to stand firm as a faithful witness to our times, and may we, its readers and contributors, continue to uphold the enduring values of responsible journalism.

Congratulations to the Manila Bulletin. May its voice remain steady, its purpose clear, and its legacy enduring, for generations yet to come.